The Office of Naval Research has funded research in Undersea Medicine since the early 1950’s. and in 2007, Undersea Medicine was
designated as a National Naval Responsibility (NNR). Efforts have shifted from defining safety/performance windows for undersea operations to leveraging new biomedical and electrophysiological technologies to directly address and explore novel approaches to undersea disorders and performance challenges.
The Undersea Medicine Program is working on specifi c technologies to predict/prevent hyperbaric oxygen toxicity, ensure safe submarine
escape and rescue, ensure safe diving in contaminated water, monitor submarine atmospheric conditions, monitor carbon dioxide levels
in re-breathers, and interventions against underwater sound/blast effects.
Payoffs may be significant by allowing the capability to operate safely in a hostile environment, increase mission fl exibility/effi ciency and
decrease the logical burden of treating injuries while decreasing the morbidity and mortality of undersea operations.
Research Opportunities:
Decompression Sickness:
- Prediction of onset
- Prevention of onset
- Non-recompressive therapies
- Accelerated decompression
Hyperbaric Oxygen Toxicity:
- Prediction of onset
- Prevention of onset
Submariner and Diver Health:
- Improved performance
- Improved submarine crew selection
- Safe diving in contaminated waters
- Improved trauma management in submarine-special forces operations
LCDR Matthew Swiergosz, MSC
(703) 696-0367
matthew.swiergosz@navy.mil